This invention relates generally to the field of toy rubber band guns and more specifically to an automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun with an ammunition-powered operating system.
The history of rubber band guns is documented at least as far back as the early twentieth century. The first rubber band guns may have followed from the recognition of the capacity of rubber bands to function both as a projectile object, as well as a repository of elastic potential energy which could be easily harnessed so as to affect projection. Over time, commonly available “household-type” rubber bands have most often been used as ammunition in rubber band guns. In its simplest form, a rubber band gun need only be a means for retaining a stretched rubber band such that it may be aimed and selectively released. Such a rubber band gun can be achieved by simply hooking the ends of a stretched rubber band over the ends of a stick, pointing one end of the stick in the direction of desired rubber band projection, and manually unhooking and releasing the rubber band from the other end of the stick, so as to affect projection. Because of the short range of a projected rubber band, and the limited amount of kinetic energy which can be delivered to a target, the majority of rubber band guns have been designed as toys rather than as actual weapons. Over time, there have been many innovative designs put forth for rubber band guns. Many of the innovations seen in rubber band guns are analogous to innovations that have taken place in the development of actual firearm weapons. Such innovations have included multi-shot rubber band guns, semi-automatically repeating rubber band guns, a differentiation between “pistol” rubber band guns for short range shooting, and “rifle” rubber band guns for longer range shooting, and rapid-firing rubber band guns which in many ways mimic the functioning of machine guns.
With regard to rapid-firing, machine gun-like rubber band guns, examples of prior technology which are generally indicative of the state of the art can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,697,425 issued Dec. 21, 1954 to McElveen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,219 issued Jun. 30, 1987 to Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,770 issued Dec. 15, 1992 to Vosloh, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,150 issued Oct. 24, 1995 to Joppe. Each of these patents pertain to rubber band gun designs which are able to produce a rapid, sequential discharge of multiple rubber bands by some means other than a semi-automatic mechanism (a mechanism which requires repeated pulling/releasing of a trigger means to produce rapidly repeating rubber band discharge.)
The chief deficiency seen in the prior technology is that rubber band guns of these designs perform in a repeating manner only so long as the operator continues to perform mechanical work upon the mechanism. The design by McElveen requires that mechanical work be continuously performed upon a combination grip/arrester means so as to affect a continuous, sequential discharge of rubber bands. The Vosloh design requires that mechanical work be continuously performed upon a trigger means so as to affect a continuous, sequential discharge of rubber bands, and the designs by Joppe and Miller both require that mechanical work be continuously performed upon a crank means so as to affect a continuous, sequential discharge of rubber bands.
The reason that the requirement of the operator to perform mechanical work while firing constitutes a deficiency is that such activity is likely to interfere with the operator's ability to accurately aim the rubber band gun, and to maintain aim throughout the sequence of rubber bands being discharged. Variations on prior technology designs may involve adding a motor to the mechanism so as to remove the need for the operator to perform work during the firing sequence. While such design variations might have a positive effect on the design in terms of the ability of the operator to accurately aim the rubber band gun, the addition of a motor would also increase the mechanical complexity and weight of the gun, which would negatively affect reliability and person-portability.